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She said: "When I saw the picture had made it into the papers I was stunned. My first thought was disbelief that I was in a national paper.

"I saw it on the TV and even in a magazine I picked up at the doctor's surgery.

"It originally said I was German. Now I don't mean any offence to Germans, but I am proudly British.

"At least I've got a great holiday snap to show people."

She said her experience was "exhilarating" and within seconds the family were laughing about it.

Mrs Sherring, a manager for a local hospital trust, said: "The tour guide was brilliant but absolutely crazy. He started sharpening this wooden stick, skewered a piece of chicken on the end and the next thing we knew, this crocodile started coming towards us.

"I had never seen one before, so it was really fantastic to be there. Once we realised what was happening we were excited.

"It did get very close to the boat indeed and it looked like a real monster, but we quickly got used to it as the guide started teasing it.

"The croc had jumped up to catch the stick about six times and there was no more chicken left, so the guide tied a white plastic bag on the end of it and tried again.

"This time, he tapped it on the side of the boat and the croc just jumped straight towards me.

"I screamed and jumped back - it's not every day you have a crocodile that close up.

"It was like being in a Jaws film with these teeth coming towards me.

"But a moment later we were all laughing about it. We realised I wasn't really in any real danger, but it was a shock."

She added: "My mother was frantic with worry that I was nearly eaten, but of course it didn't look that serious from where I was sitting.

"I was exhilarated, but not exactly close to death. That croc was a seasoned pro and I think he made the most of his photo opportunity."

Paul Stodolny, 29, from Toronto, Canada, who took the photo, said: "I was thrilled to get the photo, it really was a once-in-a lifetime shot."